EFCC Investigates N6.7bn Transfer To Sambo Dasuki & Ita Ekpeyong After Poll

8 years ago

EFCC Investigates N6.7bn Transfer To Sambo Dasuki & Ita Ekpeyong After Poll

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has begun a fresh investigation into what it described as a “curious” transfer of N6.7bn from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the Office of the National Security Adviser and two other agencies after the 2015 presidential election, The PUNCH is reporting.
A source in the EFCC said the commission had started investigation into reasons for the payments, which the office of the SGF said were for security services.

The letter, which authorised the payments, was dated March 30, 2015, two days after the presidential election was held on March 28.
According to the document from the Office of the SGF, Special Services Office, other beneficiaries of the curious fund transfer were the Director-General of the Department of State Services, Mr. Ekpeyong Ita; and an agency simply referred to as MEA Research Library.

The letter, which was addressed to the Branch Controller, the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja Branch, read in part, “Please, credit the account(s) of the under-listed beneficiaries and debit our account number above with the sum of N6,076,834,131.00 (Six billion, seventy six million, eight hundred and thirty four thousand, one hundred and thirty-one naira only).”

It stated that N3.1bn should be transferred to the account of the DSS; MEA Research Library, N2.6bn, and the ONSA, N216.8m.

It was gathered that the EFCC would invite a few former public officers, including the former DSS boss, under whose tenure the payments were made.

The EFCC source stated, “Nobody has been indicted yet, but we are going to invite those involved for clarifications. I am talking about those who have not been indicted. The fact that the payments were made after the presidential poll made them curious.”
Fresh facts have also emerged on some transactions in the office of the former NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.).

A staff Officer, Accountant 1 in the ONSA, Yazidu Ibrahim, in his statement of witness made to the EFCC, stated that under the former NSA, contracts were awarded without the input or approval of the tenders board and procurement unit.

He added that in the last five years, companies that were awarded contracts, did not pay withholding tax, saying the authority to award contracts resided in Dasuki.

The officer alleged that payments for contracts were, on several occasions, paid without accompanying documents.

Ibrahim stated, “To the best of my knowledge, there is no tenders board and procurement unit in the NSA 0ffice. The awarding authority for all contractors remained the NSA. All payments to contracts are based on directive from the DFA (Director of Finance and Administration).

Sometimes, there were no accompanying documents. Most times, there are nothing except account details of contractors.”

“Many of the payments were related to the 2015 presidential election and not for national security. Many people in the ruling Peoples Democratic Party got huge sums of money like Attahiru Bafarawa, Chief Raymond Dokpesi and Chief Tony Anenih.”

In a related development, the Office of the National Security Adviser has called on all companies, who had contracts with or rendered services to the ONSA to appear before the Contract Verification Committee sitting in its premises between December 15 and December 23.

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This was contained in a statement signed by the Principal General Staff Officer, ONSA on Sunday.

The ONSA asked the contractors to appear through accredited representatives of at least the status of a director.

It asked the contractors to come with the following documents, “Certificate of Incorporation, Particulars of Directors, Tax clearance certificate from 2011 till date, letter of award of contract, invoice for supplies or services, evidence of payments so far or outstanding balance, personal income tax clearance certificates of directors and any other documents considered relevant to the contract.”